A Cowboy for Lynne: Cameron Family Saga

by Shirley Larson

  “Lynne…” He moved as if to grab my arms.

  “Don’t touch me,” I said. “You’re worse than Richard. I don’t want anything to do with you.”

  I turned and ran up the stairs. I burst out of the theater, stunned to see that the morning sun was high in the sky. I felt like several days had passed since I’d gone inside the theater and it had only been a couple of hours. All I could think of was getting in my car and driving away. I pulled out of the parking space at the same time Jake came out of the theater. He looked…stricken. I wouldn’t feel sorry for him. No.

  Chapter 8

  As I drove back to the hotel, I kept doing this involuntary trembling thing. It’s strange how the mind has such control over the body.

  When I reached the sanctuary of my room, I began to pace. It was hard to think when my body still burned with arousal. I’d been with men, but it had been a casual thing. I could count my experiences on my hand and they had been fellow actors, men who weren’t any more interested in having a relationship than I was. All of my sexual experiences had been unsatisfying. They were prosaic and quick. In fact, I was to the point where I simply didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. After meeting Jake, I understood.

  I’d never felt this way about a man before. I remembered the way he made me feel the first time we met, as if the universe had shrunk down to the two of us on that stage. And just now in that dressing room. I’d felt such a longing for him as if I would die if I didn’t have him and release this sexual ache that was like a raging hunger inside me. It was still there, my body and my mind crying out to me to get in my car and go to the ends of the earth if need be to find him.

  But I couldn’t. It was all I could do to convince myself not to call Alex and ask how much it would cost to walk out on my contract.

  I stopped pacing and sat down at the little table in front of the window. I didn’t need to look at the contract to know how much it would cost. One hundred thousand dollars seemed about right. I couldn’t seriously consider walking away, anyway. I had never defaulted on a contract in my life. I wasn’t about to start now.

  I would do my job. If my job put me occasionally in Jake’s realm, then I’d simply have to steel myself against my longing for him. I had been my own woman for too long. I wasn’t about to start being led by the nose by any man, especially not Jake Rutledge.

  Jake

  All the way back to the ranch, I called myself every name in the book, ass, fool, imbecile, idiot. At the same time, I was angry. How could she equate my interest in her with Richard’s? There was only one answer. Her experience with Richard had made her see a bogeyman in any male who tried to get close to her. Damn Richard. I should have wrung his neck when I had the chance. If I ever got my hands on him…

  I was headed back to my room to change clothes and get out on the range when Leslie caught me. She was beautiful as only an eighteen year old girl can be, dressed in a white shirt and close fitting jeans. “I’ve been really, really patient like you said I should be. But how much longer are you going to make me wait before I get to see Lynne?”

  I’d forgotten all about my promise to Leslie that if she were patient and gave me a few days, I’d take her to see Lynne. I put my arm around her shoulder. “I don’t know, baby girl. Things are…messed up right now. I think you’re going to have to wait a little bit longer.”

  “How long?”

  Right now, my sister teetered between anxiety and anger. I knew she wouldn‘t like my answer. “A couple of weeks, maybe?”

  “A couple of weeks? Jake, it’s not fair. Here she is, practically at my back door and I can’t go see her?”

  “It’s complicated. Just take my word for it, she wouldn’t want to see you right now.”

  Leslie’s eyes narrowed and she got that look, the one that said she was about to take things in her own hands. “I don’t believe that. You’re just being…weird. You don‘t want me to talk to her because you think she‘ll encourage me.”

  “That’s not it at all, sweetie, believe me.” I hesitated and then decided to go for the truth. It was probably the only thing that would deter her. “Ms. Cameron and I had…a difference of opinion. She’s not very happy with me. So I don’t think she’d care to see any member of the Rutledge family right now.”

  Her eyes went brilliant with temper. “What did you say to her?”

  “Nothing that’s any of your business.” Oh, man. Here I was, pissing off another female. Way to go, Rutledge.

  “You did it, didn’t you? You ruined everything for me and you did it on purpose. You’re just a…a…tyrant in cowboy boots.” She went flying off to her room.

  So far I was zero for two with the two women in my life. All I needed was to piss off my mother and Laura and the day would be complete.

  And here she came, the baby of the family. Laura was fourteen, teetering on the edge of being a woman. She had the dark hair of all the women in my family, but her face was my father’s face, more rounded, not so narrow…but still, beautiful. “Were you arguing with Leslie?” Laura looked steamed, as only a young teenage girl could.

  “We weren’t arguing,” I said in my most soothing voice.

  “Yes, you were. You’re keeping her from seeing Lynne Cameron. And me, too. You’re just a big…tyrant.” And she ran up the stairs to the loft in her best dramatic teenage fashion.

  Elizabeth Rutledge emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a tea towel. Such a prosaic action, one I’d seen her do a thousand times. Yet today it was as if I were seeing her for the first time. She’d gone through hell when my father died and come back stronger, mysterious, serene, as if she knew something about the universe the rest of us would never know. She wore her long black hair with its few strands of gray tied back in a leather thong, a style that should have done nothing for her and yet did everything. It exposed her high cheekbones, her keen brown eyes, her smoothly tanned skin. If it were not for us five rowdy and mostly grown children, she could have passed for a woman half her age. Then she did what my mother did best, poured oil on the troubled waters. “Don’t take it too hard, my son. Dealing with two teenage girls is a little bit like facing a tsunami. Neither one of them will come to their senses until they’re twenty-five. That’s about the time they will both recognize you for the wonderful brother you are. Now what has happened between you and Lynne?”

  And there it was, that complete knowledge and acceptance of me, of the man I was now, a mature and somewhat cynical man, wiser about women than I wanted to be after my divorce. This woman was almost impossible to fool, but I always tried, right from the time I‘d been caught smoking behind the cattle shed. “What makes you think something happened between us?”

  “My dearest, sweetest son. My rock.” She cupped my cheek with her hand. “Why do you always resist asking me for help?”

  “Perhaps because I don’t need it?” I asked, managing a smile as I leaned forward and touched her nose, hoping to distract her.

  “She’s very special, isn’t she, your Lynne?”

  It was as if my mother knew how close Lynne had come to being mine…and how far away from me Lynne was now. “She’s one in a million, sweetheart.”

  “Remember when you bought that wild Spanish stallion at an auction because Leslie fell in love with him at first sight?”

  “Rage? The horse so aptly named? Oh, yeah, I remember Rage. My backside remembers Rage very well.”

  “What was the first thing you did with that horse?”

  Her dark brown eyes watched me, waited for me to make the connection from Lynne and the horse. “Well, the first thing we did was rename him. We began to call him Black Cloud. Then we gave him his freedom to run in the south pasture.”

  “How long did you let him run?”

  “About two weeks. This is all very interesting but Lynne isn’t a horse.”

  “But she does have the same great spirit, does she not? And she has been under a cloud, hasn’t she?”

  “Has Leslie b
een talking to you about Lynne?”

  “That’s been the sole topic of Leslie’s conversation these days.” My mother was not to be sidetracked. “Didn’t it take a great deal of courage for her to come down here and take the job of running the theater?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “How long did it take you to put a bridle on Black Cloud?”

  I thought back to those long days and nights I spent working with that horse. Any other busy rancher would have given up on that wild animal long ago. But I was drawn to him in a way I couldn‘t explain…in much the same way I was drawn to Lynne. “Another two weeks.”

  Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction. She put her arm around my shoulder and walked me into the living room. “And finally tame him?”

  “Another month.” We were in front of the fireplace now, where the family photos sat. I knew what she wanted me to do. She wanted to look at the photo of our complete family, the one taken when my father was still alive.

  “How do you think it made me feel, watching you work with that horse?”

  “Not good, probably.” My father had taken a fall off a cantankerous horse he was trying to train. The fall had killed him.

  “My throat was in my heart every minute. But I had to let you find your own way. I had to let you become the man you were meant to be. I couldn’t interfere. Who takes him out for runs now?”

  “Leslie…and Laura, much against my better judgment. And my heart is somewhere south of my gut every time one of them climbs on his back.”

  “Yet you let them go. Has he ever thrown either one of them?”

  “No. He’s besotted with those two females.”

  “So. According to my math, it should take you two months for you to turn Lynne into a besotted female…without the risk of breaking your neck.”

  I gave a little laugh. “I’m not sure about that. I don’t think Lynne does ‘besotted’ real well.”

  “Time, son. Give her time.”

  The Oracle had spoken. I knew she was right. My body just didn’t want to think of how much time it would take before I could have Lynne in my arms, ready and eager for our bodies to join.

  So I let Lynne run free…with the caveat that John keep me informed.

  A week later, John called me. “Son of a bitch, son. I don’t know why you’re staying away, but we sure could have used your help today. That female of yours went to a second hand store and picked up a gigantic oak desk. It weighed about as much as a diesel truck. Some kid came in off the street to ask about auditions and she commandeered him and my nephew and me to haul the damn thing upstairs. Of course it got stuck in that bend in the stairway. We had to turn that monster on end to get it up the rest of the way. Then when we set it in front of the window, she didn’t like it there and we had to haul it over next to the wall. If she wants more furniture moved, I don’t care what you said about giving her space. I’m calling for your muscle to spare my hernia.”

  “Sorry, John.” I was smiling as I hung up. I felt sorry for John and sorrier for myself that I wasn’t there to help but I was entering the busy season at the ranch and I really needed to oversee the roundup and branding of the calves.

  Chapter 9

  Lynne

  It was positively crazy, but I kept looking for Jake to show up at the theater. At first, I told myself I just wanted to be prepared for whenever he decided to pop up. But when a week went by and then two, I began to believe that he had given up on me. I was relieved, of course I was. All I had to do now was brace myself for the board meeting coming up this next Monday night. I had to be prepared with a progress report and a time table for my future plans. And of course, I had to brace myself for Jake’s presence on the board.

  But when the meeting began, Jake’s chair was empty. Max rose and told the other members that Jake Rutledge was in his busy season at the ranch and Jake knew that the board was fully capable of discussing the future of the theater without him.

  In a slightly dazed state, I presented my plans for publicity, auditions, and staffing. There was very little for them to question. The tenting had been done, the cockroaches exterminated. The renovation would start next Monday. I presented the idea that, as soon as my brothers were done with the first phase, we should have an open house at the theater complete with punch and finger food and invite the general public to attend. We’d give a special invitation to the shop owners on Breen Avenue as well as members of the police force. There would be congestion around the theater during shows, or so I fervently hoped, and we would need cooperation from all of these people. After the open house, I’d be holding auditions for Oklahoma.

  The board thought this was an excellent idea and gave their okay.

  A week later, my brothers’ crew came in with their equipment and parked it behind the theater. It was such a relief to see that familiar blue truck with the Cameron brothers logo, circles within circles, enter the property.

  The Cherubs

  “Ha. You said there wouldn’t be a renovation.” Sarah was gleefully triumphant. “Well, just look out there at the auditorium, big boy. There’s those ladder thingy s…”

  “Scaffolding,” Michael said wearily.

  “And paint buckets and drop cloths? I’d say we’re in the middle of a major renovation.”

  “All right, all right, so I was wrong.”

  “What if they paint over us?”

  “Will you stop? Nobody paints over gold leaf.”

  “I like the new beige wall color though. That old blue color they painted the auditorium in 1954 always made me feel like I was a fish in an aquarium. And after they cleaned the carpet and the seat cushions, it smelled much nicer in here.”

  “Damn steam cleaner kept me awake.”

  “You’re a heavenly cherub, Michael. You can’t say damn.”

  “I can if I haven’t had my sixteen hours of sleep.”

  “How can you think about sleep when this is all so exciting?”

  A soft snore was her answer.

  A month had passed since I’d seen Jake. It was now mid-October and I’d heard nothing from him. The more time that passed, the more Jake intruded in my thoughts. I lay in bed at night exhausted, but unable to sleep because the vision of Jake as he’d looked when I drove away made me wonder if I’d been a complete fool. After all, if he had been the kind of a man who meant to control my every move, he’d certainly gone missing in action. It was all too apparent to me now that he was avoiding me. And rightfully so, I supposed. He was reacting like a normal man would after being rejected. He was staying far, far away. That was what I wanted, wasn’t it?

  It occurred to me, under the mountain of bills and printings that had to be delivered to the press and contacting someone to get a website up and running for us that I hadn’t heard from Leslie, either. Jake must be keeping her away, too. I could only imagine how much that young lady wanted to see me, to know that I was less than twenty miles away from her home.

  On the day of the open house, I decided enough was enough. I got in my car and drove out to the ranch.

  Once I swung open the gate and crossed the cattle guard, I remembered how pretty it was. Acres and acres of green Bahia grass spread out in front of me dotted by isolated palm trees springing up in the pasture, their fronds waving gently in the breeze. White-faced cows raised their heads to examine me with curious brown eyes as I drove slowly down the graveled lane, trying to keep the gravel from pinging my car. I swung around in front of the house, thinking it was just as beautiful as I remembered.

  I rang the doorbell, wishing I had thought this through a little more, and called first. While I waited, I admired the lovely fall wreath on the door, a collection of red, yellow and amber maple leaves. The wreath reminded me that it was fall. The only indication I’d had for the change of seasons was a slight drop in the temperature. It was eighty-six this morning instead of ninety-two. I hoped I wouldn’t miss the snow at Christmas time.

  Elizabeth opened the door and she was her usual regal self, her
smile open and welcoming. “I should have called,” I said.

  “Not at all,” she said, as if she were delighted to see me.

  “I came to see Leslie.” But Leslie had heard my voice and came crawling down from a ladder that led to a loft. “Lynne!” she called out joyously. “Oh, I’m so glad you came.”

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” I followed Elizabeth into that lovely spacious living room with the soaring ceilings and the colorful rug.

  Leslie came to me and impulsively hugged me. “I’m so glad to see you. Jake told me I couldn’t go to the theater. He said you’d be too busy.”

  “I’m in a bit of a lull now.” I opened my purse and took out a flyer I had prepared announcing the auditions to take place in the second weekend in November. “I must confess I have an ulterior motive for this visit. I’m hoping you’ll come and try out for the show,” I said, as I handed her the flyer.

  “Of course I want to try out for the show.” She took the flyer and jumped up to show the paper to her mother. As she knelt down beside Elizabeth’s chair, she laid the flyer in her mother’s lap.

  “We’ll have to talk about this, Leslie,” her mother said. “Rehearsals will cut into your homework time. This is your senior year. You need to make good grades to ensure that you are eligible for the college of your choice.”

  “I can do homework backstage.”

  I said quickly, “You and your mother will have to discuss this. You’ll want to have her approval as well as…the other members of your family.”

  “What’s going on here?” Gabe entered the room. He slapped his hat against his thigh to send a puff of dust in the air, and then held onto a hall tree while he toed off his boots. His glance swept around the room to take in his mother and sister and then landed on me. His eyes lit up and his face came alive with interest. In his stocking feet, he padded over to me. “I didn’t know The Lady of Shallot was visiting.” Gabe fell to one knee in front of me and recited, “She has a lovely face, God in his mercy lend her grace.”